As a company dealing with advertisment production, Shiny Toy Guns is a shift to another direction for owner Asadul Haq, but he doesn’t seem fazed by the change. PHOTO: PUBLICITY
Making television feature films seems to be the latest addition to the Pakistani entertainment industry. Staying in line with the ongoing trend, Asadul Haq, well-known advertising filmmaker, has launched his newest project Shiny Toy Guns. The shiny new production company aims at providing likeminded filmmakers and writers with the opportunity to work under a common banner.
A start-up project that has its origin in Ambience Films, an advertisement production company established by Haq in 1993, Shiny Toy Guns started off in Singapore and has only recently come to Pakistan. Even for its modest beginnings, the company is benefiting from Haq’s experience in the advertisement industry and already has multiple projects lined up.
“We have four projects in the pipeline at different stages. The first is at screenplay level, the second is currently being written, the third just went into the writing phase and the fourth’s synopsis was just completed,” Haq tells The Express Tribune.
As a company dealing mainly with adfilms Shiny Toy Guns is a shift direction for owner Asad. But he doesn’t seem fazed by the change. “The transition will be big,” he admits. “We want all the misfits to come together, but we are working under the same principal that attention to detail is key.” Haq believes that if the work ethic observed by his team in the advertising world is sustained in his commercial venture, venturing towards a new endeavour wouldn’t be challenging.
Shiny Toy Guns attempts to make no distinction between professional and amateurs filmmakers. In a country with limited resources, it claims to welcome all types of creative talent. “There are amateurs who have done something big and some who are just getting into the business but are naturally gifted, and then there are those like us who have been toying around with different mediums. We are open to all who want to be in this business,” shares Haq.
The company’s initiation in Singapore has facilitated the team in gaining access to international buyers and vice versa. According to Asad, there is ongoing talk between interested distributors and international production houses outside Pakistan, which sounds promising for all those who want their stories to transcend physical boundaries.
As for how one goes about pitching a project to Shiny New Guns, “there is no set procedure,” Asad explains. “If you have an idea and wish to make a film, you are welcome at Shiny Toy Guns. Perhaps the best way is to bring what you have, let us look at it and if it can work for both parties, we will work on it together as a team.”
As a production house, Shiny Toy Guns aims at being fully integrated, providing something for those who wish to be a part of the entertainment industry. Asad shares the multitude of ways in which aspirants can seek assistance from the company. “It’s not about just directing — it’s about helping you finance, produce, post and hopefully, distribute your project, if needed. My ultimate aim is to take this forward in a way that it helps in exposing individuals to the productive side of the business.”
While the project sounds interesting and more importantly, a viable avenue for those aspiring to become a part of Pakistan’s media scene, time will unveil how far the company goes in living up to its promises.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2014.
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Ad filmmakers trying to make films. I doubt it will produce anything.